A well equipped and accommodating cabin is more than comfort – it’s a competitive advantage. In the pursuit of the most skillful drivers, a comfortable cab is becoming increasingly valuable.

When a driver is able to relax and get a good night’s sleep you can see it on the bottom line. There’s greater effectivity, fewer injuries, less damage to trucks and more deliveries are on time.

“A rested driver makes fewer mistakes and quite simply costs less money,” says Rikard Orell, design director at Volvo Trucks. What’s more, a good cabin has space for both work and leisure. This has been the goal with the new Volvo FH.

A better work-life balance

“We’ve compared the cab with a business hotel. It should be clean, tidy and effective, yet homely at the same time,” says Carina Byström, responsible for interior design at Volvo Trucks. One of the objectives has been to create a calm environment. This is why the cab is dominated by smooth, clean surfaces and sweeping forms.

The design even helps the driver to manage long periods of time at the wheel without having to make too many stops.
“This is why it’s important to have a wide range of adjustment possibilities on the seat and steering wheel and be able to have food and drink close at hand,” says Carina Byström.

More like home

Despite being inside the cab most of the time, truck drivers have to spend quite a bit of time outdoors. When loading and hitching, for example. Rainy days mean the driver gets wet. Then, starting the journey in dry clothes can save the day.

The drying cupboard is a textile sack with a fan at the bottom. When it’s not in use you simply fold it up and put it away. This means it takes up hardly any space in the cabin,” says Peter Johansson, responsible for ergonomics at Volvo Trucks.

The new bed is another improvement. It has a more comfortable mattress and it’s wider where it’s most needed: 4 centimetres at the head and 5.5 centimetres at the hips. The foot end, in contrast, has become 4 centimetres narrower to increase space for the driver’s seat. “It might not sound much, just a few centimetres, but these are important centimetres. The bed feels much bigger in the new Volvo FH,” says Peter Johansson.

The right kind of light

“We’ve tried to get rid of all the shadows in the cabin by positioning lights in a better way. To avoid glare we’ve used lots of indirect light. An example is the entry lamp which lights up the steps without shining in your eyes,” says Peter Johansson. Also the storage spaces have better illumination. In the compartment above the bed, lamps turn on automatically when you open the hatch.

When driving in the dark you have the benefit of improved night lighting – red LED lamps that let you have lighting on without ruining your night vision. “Controlling the lighting from in bed has also improved. With the new control panel you can even dim the lighting, or choose one of the fixed levels on the light switches,” says Peter Johansson.